THE GOLDFINCH. 79 



their hearts to purchase such an ornithological 

 bouquet. 



I have already said that many of our conirostral 

 or hard-billed birds, as well as others of the denti- 

 rostral or insectivorous division of the Insessores, 

 hitherto supposed to be constantly resident, at 

 least in the south of England, leave this country 

 in considerable flocks about the beginning of au- 

 tumn, and return to it in diminished numbers 

 during the ensuing spring. It would be taxing 

 your patience too much if I were to transcribe 

 from my journal all the notes and records com- 

 mitted to paper within the last few years which 

 bear upon this particular subject ; such an inflic- 

 tion might test even your ornithological zeal too 

 severely, and would necessarily exceed the limits 

 of many letters ; but feeling, as I do, that the sub- 

 ject is one of more than common interest, I pro- 

 pose to select two well-known examples, which have 

 heretofore been supposed to be constant residents 

 in our island, the goldfinch and the pied wagtail ; 

 the one a hard-billed bird, the other soft-billed: 

 and an account of their migrations will be suffi- 

 cient to illustrate my theory, and perhaps compre- 

 hend as much as would prove interesting to you 

 on this subject. 



Of the departure of large flocks of goldfinches 

 in the autumn I have already spoken, a few, how- 



